


how asajj ventress became the world’s deadliest intern

by ninefish



Series: if i stay here, trouble will find me [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Pre-Star Wars: The Clone Wars, ft. bail organa, making up lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24192595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninefish/pseuds/ninefish
Summary: Padmé has always enjoyed walks.It was on one of these particular walks that Padmé Amidala made an acquaintance that would change the course of her life.(Padmé Amidala, meet Asajj Ventress)
Relationships: Padmé Amidala & Asajj Ventress
Series: if i stay here, trouble will find me [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719697
Comments: 8
Kudos: 95





	how asajj ventress became the world’s deadliest intern

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this fic is a little sidebar of my longer AU, the Trials of Mandalore! these two fics don't really touch but this will be setting up more fun plot shenanigans so maybe check out that fic as well if this one amuses you ;)  
> (or if you found this through ToM, thanks for checking the AU expansion out!)
> 
> disclaimer: i take and horribly mangle EU as i please ;)

Padmé has always enjoyed walks. Long, leisurely strolls through the cobbled pathways of Theed blew fresh sea air through her hair and flushed her cheeks with invigorating color. The sky seemed brighter and her problems less heavy by the time she returned to her office. 

Walks were a bit different on Coruscant than Naboo but Padmé still tried to go on walks regularly. In the fast-paced center of the galaxy, it was more important than ever to be able to get out of her headdress and head.

“Careful on Coruscant,” her relatives had warned her. “There are real snakes there, sleazy politicians who’ll take your position and power for their own, and a public populace that’s nearly worse!” Somehow her relatives were a lot less antsy for her to travel to Coruscant when it was her job rather than when her homeworld was thrown into chaos.

Are we not public servants, she’d wanted to cry out to them. She couldn’t understand how, even in Nubian publicly elected office, there was so much prejudice against common people. Heavens, she even caught the former Nubian senator, Palpatine, who had kindly taken Padmé under his wing since she had arrived, wrinkling his nose at some of the Coruscanti locals. She noticed he always took private transportation. 

_They were just people!_ Padmé wanted to shout. Normal people, trying to make their lives. And they were supposed to be dedicated to making those lives better!

But whenever the drivel of politics made Padmé want to fist her hands and made her forget why she’d even wanted to become a senator after ruling as Queen for so long, she took a walk. There, she remembered. 

It was on one of these particular walks that Padmé Amidala made an acquaintance that would change the course of her life, and the galaxy’s as a whole. 

* * *

The young woman was quiet, shrunken into herself. Her head was shaven and Padmé wasn’t quite sure she’d ever seen a species similar to the woman, with dark tattoos covering bone pale skin. 

Padmé would have walked past her if at that moment, the woman’s stomach hadn’t erupted into the loudest, saddest rumble possible. The woman wore a threadbare jacket and looked at the world suspiciously, as if it had taken something from her and had never given a cent back since. 

And in that moment, Padmé saw her friends. She saw Dormé and Sabé. It was Nubian custom to pick couriers and handmaidens from long lines of esteemed lineages. But Padmé had never liked limitations. Where others demanded “what do we need?”, she opened her arms and asked, “how many?”

Rather than picking her handmaidens from the many schools in Theed, she often stumbled onto them. Of course, a likeness to her was necessary, but makeup was part of their tradition for a reason. So Padmé made a habit of finding her handmaidens. They were her friends as much as her employees. 

And it was with her friends in mind that Padmé looked kindly upon a young Asajj Ventress and asked, “I’m sorry, are you well?”

And perhaps it was fate, or the Force, or some mystical being from beyond that intervened and spoke, because instead of raising her shields higher, something in Asajj crumbled and she whispered hoarsely the word that would change her life forever— 

“No.”

“Can I treat you to lunch, then?” Padmé asked. She liked to help people when she could, and giving the occasional meal to a stranger was one of the acts she loved doing the most. There was something special about shared experiences over good food. That and it was often a treat for herself to not have to spend her lunch alone or on a political mission.

The young woman nodded mutely and followed behind her, hesitantly. Padmé had to check behind her to make sure the woman hadn’t lost her. She talked the whole way, her voice seeming to smooth her. 

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Padmé Amidala. What’s your name?”

The young woman seemed shaken at being addressed, and she looked down, grabbing at her thin arm. She muttered something softly, but Padmé picked up something that sounded like Asajj. 

Padmé gave a kind smile. Not intimidating, but not disinterested. “That’s a beautiful name, Asajj.” Asajj looked to the side, this time not uncomfortably, but with a pleased sort of flush to her cheeks. She seemed content to let Padmé continue talking to her. There was something soft in her eyes, but in the way that hid sharp, broken edges. It tugged at all of Padmé’s heartstrings.

“I’m working here in Coruscant but I come from Naboo. It’s a beautiful place, full of green hills and a wonderful sky. As much as I’ve enjoyed being here in Coruscant, nothing quite compares to home, hm?” Padmé looked to Asajj, who shrugged hesitantly. Her eyes had a guarded look in them that wasn’t quite defensive. Padmé gave an encouraging smile.

Padmé led them around the block, finally reaching a homely little dinner with glowing lights illuminating the restaurant. 

“I’m taking you to Dex’s. Have you had it before? It’s honestly the best burgers I’ve had in a long time. Have you ever had it?” Padme waited patiently for Asajj to answer.

“I . . . arrived here recently,” Asajj finally said, in that soft, slightly rough voice, when they found themselves a booth.

Padmé nodded understandingly, respecting the boundary Asajj seemed to draw around herself and her personal details. “Well, I hope you’ll come to love the city as much as I have,” she said. After a few minutes, she waved Dex over, who laughed and talked warmly with the air of someone who has run his own diner for many years. Dex’s was a sort of community in itself.

The Besalisk diner owner greeted them with a toothy grin, nodding to Padmé. He also gave a slightly more subdued grin to Asajj, respecting her distance as he passed them their menus. He’d seen his share of Coruscant’s people in his time.

A brief wait later, their steaming food was brought out and Padmé tucked into her burger as Asajj ravenously devoured hers. She resisted the urge to smile sympathetically. The poor kid had looked starving and, well, once someone had one of Dex’s burgers, one never went back. 

Padmé resisted the urge to dig— it wasn’t her story to tell. 

Instead, Padmé told Asajj more of Naboo and the lake-side home she had spent summers at. The way the young woman’s eyes glazed over, Padmé wondered what sorts of worlds she had seen in contrast. She seemed to perk up a bit more when Padmé told her a few stories of her being queen, even asking a few questions about how a queen could be elected and how chaos didn’t break out. 

Something in Padmé twisted a bit at how Asajj seemed so confused that lawless terror _wasn’t_ the default of a planet.

That first day, they long overstayed their time in Dex’s, Padmé outlining the basis of Nubian government. It ignited a bit of the altruistic politician in her, always warmed to see younger people enthusiastic about government. Padme’s leftovers had long gone cold by the time she asked for a box to take it home with and they talked for a bit after exiting. 

“I better run and get some more work done today,” Padmé smiled at Asajj, a genuine one. “It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Asajj.”

To her surprise, Asajj reciprocated. “You too, Miss Amidala,” she said shyly.

Padmé laughed, not unkindly, “please, call me Padmé.”

Asajj merely ducked her head and blushed. She waved and they bid their farewells.

* * *

Padmé hadn’t expected to see Asajj again, but the next week the senators had been in a session that ran overtime and by the time they had adjourned, her legs had fallen into comas and she couldn’t sit in the senatorial booth one moment longer. She decided to take a walk around one of Coruscant’s small but many parks.

There was the pleasant smell of freshly cooked egg waffle blowing through the air and Padmé followed it on a whim to a bustling food cart. There was a line of species of all kinds queuing to buy the steaming waffles from the Cerean seller. Padmé’s eyes drifted to the side and she saw, to her surprise, the thin form of Asajj. The poor girl really didn’t eat enough, Padmé thought.

She found herself approaching Asajj, calling out, “Asajj! How are you?”

Asajj looked to Padmé, surprise and a bit of embarrassment flooding her expression. “Miss Amidala?”

“Please, call me Padmé,” she said. She sat down beside Asajj, keeping a comfortable distance between them. On closer inspection, Padmé did notice approvingly that Asajj seemed to have gotten a new, thicker jacket. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Asajj said quickly. “Thank you,” she added, as if remembering the words in an afterthought.

Padmé smiled gently. “Would you like to join me for an egg waffle? I haven’t had one in ages.”

Asajj looked away, hesitating.

Padmé gestured for her to follow. “Come on, you won’t regret it.” 

The food vendors on Coruscant were sometimes a touch and go, but were made with the venturing, entrepreneurial spirit that encapsulated many of the people who had found themselves in Coruscant, trying to strike it out. It also helped that they were on the surface level— usually vendors that managed to pass the health inspections were trustable enough.

They waited in line in comfortable silence, Asajj having acquiesced to Padmé’s coddling. Coddling wasn’t really in Padmé’s nature— she told herself— but something about Asajj reminded her of her little cousins and her friends. Was it so bad to want to help her out?

The thoughts churned in Padmé’s mind until they were chewing on their egg waffles, Padmé’s plain and Asajj’s with Jogan fruit flavoring, when the epiphany came to her.

“Would you like to come to the Senate with me?” Padmé turned to Asajj excitedly.

The woman looked at her for a moment, swallowing the last of her waffle. “Sorry?”

“Would you like to come with me to my office and shadow me around?” Padmé offered. Then she realized, “oh, I suppose I didn’t expressly state: I _was_ Queen of Naboo, but now I’ve been elected as senator.” 

Shadowing senators were usually programs offered to university students or, well, people with qualifications. But something about Asajj . . . there was potential in her, Padmé could sense it. And, she watched the small smile appear on Asajj’s face, Padmé trusted her.

“I . . . are you sure?” Asajj asked hesitantly.

Padmé smiled. “Of course.”

Asajj ducked her head, balling up the wrapper her waffle had been in. “Then I’d be honored to.”

* * *

Since Padmé was sure no one but the Trade Federation enjoyed the long, dragging meeting she was currently trapped in, she invited Asajj to shadow her during one of the more optimistic sessions— the integration of the mid-rim, independent planet Eeyyon into the Republic.

Oftentimes matters such as these were delegated to various committees. Several planets often desired to either join and adjust the terms of their participation in the Republic, and assembling the full Senate for such matters would be overly time-consuming.

It was to one of these smaller delegations’ meetings that Asajj followed Padmé into. Asajj soon melted into the background though, Padmé’s focus drawn into the discussions.

There was a small group of pale, long-limbed Eeyonese standing at the dais, their ornamented skin glistening in the senate building’s lighting. From Padmé’s understanding, they had desired autonomy from the Republic to retain full control over their own trading passages. Unfortunately, seedier groups had taken this to their own advantage, thus prompting their request to the Republic.

Padmé saw her people in the Eeyyonese. There was a lot of pride in the Nubian peoples as well and it had nearly broken their hearts when even the Republic could not stop the onslaught of the Trade Federation. Padmé would not let it happen to another planet, but the only way for them to have a say on the interplanetary stage was to join the Republic.

It wasn’t a perfect system, but there were good people in it. People who tried.

“We are willing to discuss joining the Republic,” the leader finally said, bowing her head. Her large, glistening eyes stared out. “But there must be someone to deal with black market traders attempting to use Eeyyon as a stop for their supply routes.”

Padmé stood, “and we will. Such matters will be dealt with if you join the Republic. If you do so, we will have the interplanetary jurisdiction needed to send resources, be it supplies or Jedi, to assist your people.”

Their leader stared at Padmé for a moment longer, silence reigning over the room. Her eyes, larger than most humanoids, seemed to take over her face and it was as if she was searching for something in Padmé’s own eyes. She seemed to find something she liked because she nodded her head in acquiescence. 

“Very well.”

Senator Organa, who presided over the committee session nodded. “We will adjourn this meeting for now with that done. We will meet again to discuss the details of Eeyyon’s incorporation and the sending of a task force,” he said.

With that, the committee broke for the day.

Padmé turned to see Asajj, looking a bit awestruck at the proceedings. “I want to have a word with the Eeyonese delegation, please wait for me here and I’ll show you around,” she whispered, smiling a bit at how the young woman jolted a bit from the trance. Asajj nodded mutely and Padmé left for the dais. 

She exchanged pleasantries with the Eeyyonese, shaking hands and nodding. Padmé saw now the glimmering on their skin was in fact a thin layer of intricately woven threads of some metal. Indeed, Eeyyon’s natural mineral reserve was likely what was motivating some of the others on the committee, but Padmé was willing to overlook it in the hopes that they would be able to give real aid to Eeyyon once it joined the Republic.

After a few minutes, Padmé excused herself and returned to Asajj, who was beginning to fidget. She also waved to Bail, who was packing up his bag.

“Bail, I’d like to introduce you to Asajj. She’s interested in how the interplanetary government system works,” Padmé said warmly. “Asajj, this is Senator Organa of Alderaan. He’s a close friend of mine.”

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Asajj,” Bail said, offering a hand.

Asajj took it with surprising confidence, shaking hands. “It’s good to meet you, sir.” Her expression was tinged with regret, “I wished this sort of intervention had happened from where I’m from.”

Bail took the admission in stride, nodding sadly. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He gave a subdued smile. “But you’re here now, and with one of the brightest senators I’ve had the honor to work with.”

Padmé waved her hand, humbled, “not at all. I’ve had excellent mentors.”

Bail smiled in full. “If you really want to hear about the government getting things done, ask Padmé about the banking deal with Senator Clovis,” he said conspiratorially to Asajj.

Padmé used all of her political practice to smooth over her expression at the mention of her old flame. “Bail!” she said exasperatedly. The man just chuckled and Padmé rolled her eyes— to think she’d once been so nervous approaching _the_ Senator Organa.

They chatted a while longer though Asajj stayed silent. Padmé caught her eye in concern, but she seemed content to watch their exchange, a small smile on her face.

“Thank you for this opportunity,” Asajj said afterward, eyes unreadable. There was a sort of muted awe on her face as she looked at the massive panels that decorated the walls of the Senate building. Padmé remembered how humbling the sight had been when she had first entered the Senate.

She smiled softly, “I wanted you to see that, whatever was in your past, there is still good in government and people who want to help.”

Asajj nodded, then hesitated. There was a consternated look on her face. “I . . . is there anything more I can do?” Her hands twisted in front of her as she stumbled over her words. “I . . . my Master . . . he died. So I came here, to see where he had come from.” She gestured around. “This wasn’t what I was expecting.” Her expression set. “I want to help more people. The way I did it before . . . I don’t think it will work anymore. But there are good people here, I see that now,” she gave a small smile to Padmé.

Padmé thought for a moment. She understood Asajj’s uncertainty of how to proceed. Some of the closest friends Padmé had made over the years hadn’t had the opportunities that she had had, yet the government allowed them to stand on the same stage. And certainly, there weren’t many opportunities for those who weren’t formally educated or in the system, as it seemed Asajj was. 

But Padmé wasn’t completely powerless as a senator either.

She turned to Asajj, who still looked dubious. “Do you want to be my intern?”

“What would I do?” Asajj wavered. Padmé grinned. _It wasn’t a no._

“You would help me around the office, do some filing, learn about the issues we’re discussing. You’d probably do a lot of what you did today as well, but with more involvement,” Padmé explained.

Asajj hesitated for a moment, watched the other senators loiter around. Then her face settled in resolve and nodded. “I want to do it.”

Padmé’s face broke into a smile. “Fantastic!”

Asajj hesitated again, “though there’s something you should know about me.”

Padmé resisted the urge to lay her hand on Asajj’s shoulder comfortingly. “Of course.”

“Before I came here, I had a Master. A Jedi Master,” Asajj said slowly. Padmé blinked in surprise but held herself back from asking. “He taught me a lot of things and we tried to do good for people in our way.” Her expression twisted in grief, “but he’s gone. And at first I was angry, _really_ angry, you know? Because he was a Jedi but they just let him die.”

Padmé had had her own fair share of experiences with Jedi. Sometimes, a part of her remembered the golden-haired boy who had given her the wooden charm that lay in her private chamber.

A Jedi Master had died for her, for her planet, too. She thought of the young man who had stood beside the funeral pyre, his body in perfect calm yet a burning storm inside his eyes that rivaled the pyre. For all the good they did, Jedi did seem to leave behind a trail of broken eyes.

“But he wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow. And I came here to see— to see what it’s all about,” Asajj said, her voice taking on a rougher quality. She blinked rapidly.

“And what do you think?” Padmé asked softly.

Asajj smiled weakly at her. “I’m not as angry as before.”

Padmé felt overcome with fondness at Asajj, feeling a bit of wetness in her eyes. “I’m so glad.”

Asajj wiped at her eyes aggressively and stared at Padmé, a new light in her gaze. “Thank you for this opportunity. I won’t let you down.” The words felt heavy, as if they were a solemn promise, not just a casual exchange outside the Senate chambers with others milling around about them. But the steeliness in Asajj’s blue eyes didn’t waver.

Padmé had the distinct feeling that she’d just gotten a lot more than a simple intern.

(And if her instinct hadn’t been enough, the string of would-be assailants placed in the ground and/or hospital by Asajj spoke for itself).


End file.
